Senior Library Books
Resource Key
LEVEL 1
brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)
LEVEL 2
provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.
LEVEL 3
lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)
Britannica Links
- Genetically modified organism Organism whose genome has been engineered in the laboratory in order to favour the expression of desired physiological traits or the production of desired biological products. In conventional livestock production, crop farming, and even pet breeding, it has long been the practice to breed select individuals of a species in order to produce offspring that have desirable traits. In genetic modification, however, recombinant genetic technologies are employed to produce organisms whose genomes have been precisely altered at the molecular level, usually by the inclusion of genes from unrelated species of organisms that code for traits that would not be obtained easily through conventional selective breeding.
- Biotechnology The use of biology to solve problems and make useful products. The most prominent area of biotechnology is the production of therapeutic proteins and other drugs through genetic engineering.
- Genetic engineering The artificial manipulation, modification, and recombination of DNA or other nucleic acid molecules in order to modify an organism or population of organisms.
- DNA Abbreviation of deoxyribonucleic acid, organic chemical of complex molecular structure that is found in all prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells and in many viruses. DNA codes genetic information for the transmission of inherited traits.
Linked Databases
- Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre Plus This link opens in a new window
This resource provides the largest collection of full text from leading regional and international newspapers and periodicals, full-text reference books, tens of thousands of full-text biographies, and a collection of images containing more than one million photos, maps, and flags.
- West Australian Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
The West Australia Archive Digital Editions provides full text searching of past issues of the West Australian. Each issue is searchable the day after publication.
General Overview
The genetic modification of organisms is a vast industry, and the applications of the technology are exciting and far-reaching. It brings new hope for medical cures, promises to increase yields in agriculture, and has the potential to solve the world’s pollution and resource crisis. Organisms with artificially altered DNA are referred to as Genetically Modified Organisms or GMOs.
Molecular biologists have discovered methods to change the structure of DNA in living organisms and alter the way in which the organism develops. However, the risks of using GMOs have been the subject of considerable debate in recent times. Most experts accept that, provided GMOs are tested carefully, the health risks to humans should be minimal from plant products, although the health risks from animal GMOs are potentially more serious, especially when the animals are for human consumption.
The potentially huge benefits to be gained from the use of GMOs creates enormous pressure to apply the existing technologies. However there are many concerns, including the environmental and socio-economic effects, and the problems of unregulated use. (Davey 2008: 23)
Scientific American - Instant Egghead #45
General Articles
- SBS Factbox: GM foods in Australia
Find out which genetically modified foods are available in Australia and which GM crops can be grown here. - Blackwood, A. (2004). GMOs 101. Health (Time Inc. Health), 18(4), 168-173. Retrieved from Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre.
Explains issues associated with the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO) by consumers. Objective of creating GMO; Kinds of foods that contain GMO; Safety issues on GMO food; Effect of GM crop on the environment. - World Health Organisation: Frequently asked questions on genetically modified foodsThese questions and answers have been prepared by WHO in response to questions and concerns from WHO Member State Governments with regard to the nature and safety of genetically modified food.
- Food Standards Australia New ZealandRegulation of GM foods. All genetically modified (GM) foods intended for sale in Australia and New Zealand must undergo a safety evaluation by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). FSANZ will not approve a GM food unless it is safe to eat.
- AgBioWorld: 31 Critical Questions in Agricultural BiotechnologyIn March 2000, Barun Mitra of the Liberty Institute, a progressive free-market think-tank in India, sent questions concerning agricultural biotechnology to the AgBioView listserv, with the hope that expert members of the list would be able to address them. He received a great number of responses, which he compiled and edited with the help of Andrew Apel and Gregory Conko. Below are the 31 questions, along with answers from members of AgBioWorld.
- Australian Government Department of the Environment: Genetically modified organisms paper 2006
Current or emerging issues paper
by Professor Nancy Millis, prepared for the 2006 Australian State of the Environment Committee.
Definitions
- GMOnoun - genetically modified organism: an organism or microorganism whose genetic material has been altered by means of genetic engineering.
- Genetic engineeringnoun - the development and application of scientific methods, procedures, and technologies that permit direct manipulation of genetic material in order to alter the hereditary traits of a cell, organism, or population.
- DNAnoun - deoxyribonucleic acid: an extremely long macromolecule that is the main component of chromosomes and is the material that transfers genetic characteristics in all life forms, constructed of two nucleotide strands coiled around each other in a ladderlike arrangement with the sidepieces composed of alternating phosphate and deoxyribose units and the rungs composed of the purine and pyrimidine bases adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine: the genetic information of DNA is encoded in the sequence of the bases and is transcribed as the strands unwind and replicate.
- Organismnoun - a form of life composed of mutually interdependent parts that maintain various vital processes.
- Molecular biologynoun - the branch of biology that deals with the nature of biological phenomena at the molecular level through the study of DNA and RNA, proteins, and other macromolecules involved in genetic information and cell function, characteristically making use of advanced tools and techniques of separation, manipulation, imaging, and analysis.